Update from Cincinnati

I am relaunching the blog with a series of posts that were originally published in 2014. Please scroll to the bottom to start with the first post.

August 20, 2014

I am back in Cincinnati today. It is hard to believe. I began telling the folks at the Clinic that I wanted to be on the road by noon on Monday and, as a result, we made it out around 1. We stopped for Chick-fil-A on the way home (their ice cream is great) and were walking in the house at 6:15. Mike, Megan and the boys and Kate and Ryan came over for dinner and we had a great time. (City Barbeque for dinner, can you tell I’m tired of hospital food?)

The transition home has been good. I am getting around OK and I will be able to manage for myself when Mary Ann goes back to school tomorrow. We have converted our dining room table to a workspace where I have my work and personal computers so I won’t have trouble staying busy during the day. I confirmed today that I will be starting back to work part-time beginning next Monday for two weeks and full-time the week of September 8th.

A group from church will be helping us move my office upstairs and move our family room to our living room next Wednesday evening. Several people have asked to help, and if you are interested, let me know and I will get you in touch with Jim Ramsey. It is a big project and the more hands we have the easier it will be. Once that move is made, I will have a fully functioning office on our main floor.

Once again, I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and support. Please keep it up.

I am looking for one more walker if you have a used one in the Cincinnati area, please let me know.

After 9 weeks in the hospital, I have come up with a few ways to tell that you have been in the hospital too long. This is audience participation time, so please add your own comments to this post of other ways that you can tell that you have been in the hospital too long. Here is my list to kick it off:

You know you have in the hospital too long when they take the number off your room and put your name on the door.

You know you have been in the hospital too long when they add your name to the phone directory.

You know you have been in the hospital too long when you can tell the difference between the Salisbury steak and the meatloaf.

You know you have been in the hospital too long when you know all the nurses on the floor, their schedules, and the names of their children.

OK, what do you have to add? Leave a comment.

Finally, we have shared so many of the miracles that we have seen over the last couple months. We have been continually amazed that when we make a request for prayer, people pray and things happen. But, sometimes God shows up in the little things too. I do a daily Bible reading that takes me through the Bible in a year. You can read about it here. The day before I was released, the reading included Psalm 30. I will include it so you don’t need to look it up.

Psalm 30

1 I will exalt you, Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
6 When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 Lord, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.
8 To you, Lord, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
9 “What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
Lord, be my help.”
11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

God minds the big things and the little things. The next phase of our journey has begun. I look forward to sharing it with you.